Department for Communities and Local Government

Department for Communities and Local Government: Advertising

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on advertising on social media in each month since January 2016.

Mr Marcus Jones: Since January 2016 the Department for Communities and Local Government spent the following amount on social media:MonthGross Spend (ex VAT & commission)Jan-16£ 9,369Feb-16£ 24,287Mar-16£ 31,053Apr-16£ 7,161May-16£ 4,729Jun-16£ 13,792Jul-16£ 2,768Aug-16£ 8,672Sep-16£ 10,461Oct-16£ 23,022Nov-16£ 19,622Dec-16£ 4,029Jan-17£ 13,037Feb-17£ 37,228Mar-17£ 134,752Apr-17£ 49,037May-17£ 11,782Total Spend £ 404,802  These figures represent gross social media advertising spend excluding fees, commission and VAT. ‘Social’ channels are defined as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These figures represent total spend for DCLG, excluding its arm’s length bodies (ALBs).Government advertising supports the government’s priorities and helps deliver its programmes, from raising awareness of government home buying schemes so people can own their own home, to informing voters of the combined authority regional mayoral elections held in May 2017 to help increase turnout. The media in which we place government advertising are selected for their ability to most effectively reach our target audience.Government advertising is purchased by our media buying agency, Carat Ltd. Carat has held the contract for UK government media buying since January 2015.

Private Rented Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that private sector landlords maintain their properties to ensure the safety of their tenants.

Alok Sharma: The private rented sector is an important part of our housing market, housing 4.5 million households in England. The proportion of tenants in the private rented sector living in non-decent housing fell from 47 per cent in 2006 to 28 per cent in 2015. Local authorities have strong and effective powers to deal with poor quality unsafe accommodation and we expect them to use those powers. Under the Housing Act 2004, they can issue an Improvement Notice or a Hazard Awareness Notice if they find a defect in the property. In extreme circumstances, the local authority may prohibit that property from being rented or decide to make repairs themselves and claim the cost back from the landlord.

High Rise Flats: Fires

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Australia on the Lacrose Tower fire in 2014.

Alok Sharma: I met with the former Premier of Victoria, the Hon. Ted Baillieu, on 22 August 2017. We discussed the fires that took place in high-rise buildings in and around Victoria in 2014. Mr Baillieu is now is leading a taskforce which has been established to investigate non-compliant cladding in Australia. We agreed to share learning from both the UK and Australian experiences.Mr Baillieu has met Dame Judith Hackitt and he will be engaging with her Independent Review. Furthermore, my officials are in dialogue with the Australian Building Codes Board.

Construction Methods

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on supporting a joint working group with lenders, valuers and the industry focussing on modern methods of construction; and when the first meeting of that group will be held.

Alok Sharma: Following publication of the White Paper my officials have met with lenders, valuers, warranty providers and insurers across the industry to get a better understanding of their current processes for homes built using modern methods of construction, and identify areas where these could be improved.The joint working group will meet for the first time later this year.

Carbon Emissions: Housing

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of progress towards ensuring that all new homes are ultra-low emission from 2020.

Alok Sharma: The Government has a duty under section 165 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to carry out a review of the minimum energy performance requirements for new homes in the Building Regulations. As set out in the Housing White Paper - Fixing our broken housing market – work has started on the review and we will consult on improving the requirements on new homes if evidence suggests that there are opportunities to do so without making homes less affordable for those who want to buy their own home.This will be in the context of the Independent Review on Building Regulations and Fire Safety, the findings of the Public Inquiry and on going building safety work.

Universities: Insulation

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of university premises, including student accommodation, which are clad in flammable substances.

Alok Sharma: On 5 September 2017, we published consolidated advice for building owners following large-scale testing, which includes the relevant data, and can be viewed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-update-and-consolidated-advice-for-building-owners-following-large-scale-testing

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2017 to Question 4915, whether the Government sought the advice of the expert panel on fire safety before the original testing of samples of cladding material.

Alok Sharma: The decision to commission the screening tests on Aluminium Cladding Material (ACM) samples was made on the basis of advice from independent experts. The Independent Expert Advisory Panel had not been appointed at that time.  At their first meeting, the Independent Expert Advisory Panel concluded the initial ACM screening tests, along with issuing advice on interim fire safety measures, were the right first steps to have taken.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution of 26 July 2017, Official Report, column 347, whether samples of cladding and insulation were tested at a rate of 100 a day.

Alok Sharma: As of 20 September 2017 all 554 samples of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding which the Building Research Establishment have received have been tested, as they came in, and landlords informed of the result.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of legislation regarding travellers' illegal encampments.

Alok Sharma: The Government is concerned about unauthorised traveller encampments and the effect that they can have on communities. Local authorities and the police have a wide range of powers that enable them to take action and the Government wants to see them working together to address this issue. A summary of the powers is published on the Government’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dealing-with-illegal-and-unauthorised-encampments

Public Spaces Protection Orders

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the amount of revenue raised by public space protection orders since their inception.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has made no such estimate.

Council Housing: Insulation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department will refund local authorities the cost of ensuring that all existing housing stock is made safe as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Alok Sharma: The Government will consider the removal of financial restrictions where financial barriers stand in the way of essential work being done. This would include circumstances where local fire services advise essential fire safety works are required to make a building safe. We are working with local authorities who approach us on a case by case basis.

Housing: Solar Power

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the fitting of solar panels where appropriate to private sector new-build homes.

Alok Sharma: The regulations and national planning policy encourage the use of renewables without mandating any particular technology.The energy performance requirements in the regulations do not prescribe the technologies, materials or fuels to be used, allowing builders the flexibility to innovate and select the most practical and cost-effective solutions in particular circumstances. These solutions could include solar panels, but they may not be appropriate for some types of buildings or locations.The National Planning Policy Framework expects local planning authorities to have a positive strategy in place to promote energy from renewable and low carbon sources. The strategy should identify opportunities where development can draw its energy supply from renewable or low carbon energy supply systems. Authorities should also have policies in place to ensure that any adverse impacts, including cumulative impacts, from renewable energy developments are addressed satisfactorily.

Fire Regulations: Prosecutions

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many prosecutions have been brought for breach of fire safety building regulations in each of the last seven years.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 12 September 2017



Prosecutions for breaches of the Building Regulations, including regulations on fire safety, are brought by local authorities. The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect information on such prosecutions.

Social Rented Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish Social Housing Lettings, England: 2016-17.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government is currently planning to publish Social Housing Lettings, England: 2016-17 as soon as the data is collected.

Department for Education

Secondary Education: Admissions

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in England were offered a place at their first choice of secondary school but did not take up that place in each of the last five years.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children in England were not offered a place at their first choice of secondary school in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The Department publishes figures annually on the applications and offers made for a secondary or primary school place through the coordinated admissions process. Offers are made on the respective national offer days of 1 March (secondary) and 16 April (primary).The collection records the offers made on national offer day, by whether that offer was of the applicant’s first preference, second preference etc. It does not record whether the offer was accepted or refused.The school admissions code requires schools to set an oversubscription criteria and to give the highest priority to looked after and previously looked after children. However, the criteria under which an offer was made is not collected.Figures for the number of applicants receiving, an offer of their first preference school, or an offer of one of their top three preference school for the last five years are attached.[1] [1] Published in the underlying data of the annual statistical release ‘Secondary and primary school applications and offers’ available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-applications.



Applications for a secondary school place, England
(PDF Document, 77.39 KB)

Schools: Finance

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of schools in (a) England and (b) each local authority in England that are in budgetary surplus; and what the average surplus is (a) in the UK and (b) in each local authority.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of schools in (a) England and (b) each local authority in England that carry an in-year deficit for each of the last (i) two, (ii) three, (iii) four and (iv) five years.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of schools in (a) England and (b) each local authority in England that were in-year deficit in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The Government want schools to have the resources they need to deliver a high quality education for their pupils. This is why we have announced that under the national funding formula there will be an additional £1.3 billion for schools and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20, on top of existing spending plans. This means that core funding for schools and high needs will rise from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to £42.4 billion in 2018-19. In 2019-20, this will rise again to £43.5 billion. On the latest available data, for 2015-16, the total number of local authority maintained schools in England with a cumulative budgetary surplus was 15,621 and the average surplus per local authority maintained school was £141,264.For academies, we collect cumulative budgetary surplus data at trust level – in 2015/16 the total number of single academy trusts (SATs) in cumulative surplus was 1,735 and the total number of multi academy trusts (MATs) in cumulative surplus was 1,084. The median cumulative surplus for academy trusts (of which a higher proportion are secondary schools than is the case for maintained schools) was £364,000 for SATs and £664,000 for MATs. The total number of schools in England with an in year deficit in each of the last five years can be found in the table attached (Annex A). It is important to note that an in year deficit is not in itself a cause for concern unless it is symptomatic of a trend towards a cumulative deficit. Many schools will draw on their reserves for a range of planned reasons – for example to spend on capital projects. The total number of schools in England that carried an in year deficit for each of the last (i) two, (ii) three, (iii) four and (iv) five years can be found in the table attached(Annex B). The breakdown at local authority level for local authority maintained schools (for each of these areas) and academies (for in year deficits) can be determined using the local authority and school expenditure data, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-local-authority-school-finance-data, and is summarised in the spreadsheet attached (Annex C). The Department collects data on cumulative surpluses for academies at trust level only. As schools managed by MATs do not necessarily fall within the same local authority area, we are unable to present the data broken down by local authority.



Annex_A_and_Annex_B
(Word Document, 12.92 KB)




Annex_C
(Excel SpreadSheet, 48.8 KB)

Schools: Finance

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her oral statement of 17 July 2017 Official Report, column 564, what definition her Department uses for an underfunded school.

Nick Gibb: We have now published the final national funding formula. We are making significant progress towards the formula, with underfunded schools receiving gains of up to 6%, per pupil, by 2019-20.Further details of the formulae can be found online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs.

Arts: Education

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of changes in the number of people studying arts subjects in schools on the effectiveness of UK creative industries.

Nick Gibb: We know that the creative industries are a cultural and economic success story for the UK being worth £87.4bn to UK economy in 2015 and growing by more than a third since 2010. The new National Curriculum was developed with input from employers and representatives from both the further and higher education sectors. It was designed to equip pupils with the knowledge they need to progress either into further education or to make a successful start on their careers, including roles in the creative industries. The total proportion of pupils finishing Key Stage 4 who were entered into a GCSE in an arts subjects rose between 2012 and 2015, but fell slightly in 2016. Comparable data is not yet available for 2017.

Teachers: Recruitment

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 48 of the Social Mobility Commission's report, Time for Change: an assessment of government policies on social mobility 1997-2017, published on 28 June 2017, what assessment she has made of that report's recommendation to introduce effective incentives to attract and retain good quality teachers in the schools that need them most.

Nick Gibb: We welcome the Social Mobility Commission’s report, published on 28 June, which considers efforts to improve social mobility over the last twenty years. The Commission rightly concludes that too often life chances can be determined not by effort and talent but by background. The Department will set out further details on policy to tackle this in due course. We are spending £1.3bn up to 2020 to attract new teachers into the profession, but we know that some schools face significant challenges in teacher supply. We have undertaken extensive research and most recently published analysis of sub-national variation in teacher supply and the factors that can be used to explain this. This includes the Supply Index that allows us to identify, for the first time, schools facing significant recruitment and retention challenges. The report is available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/teachers-analysis-compendium-2. We will use this evidence to provide targeted support to ensure schools are able to recruit and retain the teachers they need, and provide the best possible educational opportunities to their pupils. We will announce further details in due course. To improve the quality of teaching and leadership in the schools and areas that need it most, we have also launched the new Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund. This £75 million investment seeks to improve the provision of teachers’ continuing professional development and leadership development.

Schools: Admissions

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average ratio of applicants to places was in (a) academies, (b) free schools, (c) comprehensive and (d) grammar schools in each of the last seven years.

Nick Gibb: The Department publishes figures annually on the applications and offers made for a secondary or primary school place through the coordinated admissions process. Offers are made on the respective national offer days of 1 March (secondary) and 16 April (primary). We do not collect the total number of places in a school at the time applications were made and so the number of places offered by schools are attached.Summaries at national and local authority level from 2011 onwards are published on the Department’s statistics website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-applications.However, information on primary level preferences is only included from 2014/15 onwards. This is when the Department started collecting data on primary applications and offers, based on the newly introduced national primary offer day of 16 April (or next working day). In 2014/15 the collection for secondary schools was revised to allow the production of school level figures.



Ratio of first preferences
(PDF Document, 102.78 KB)

Shoeburyness High School

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the funding required to provide new capacity in Shoeburyness High School before September 2018.

Nick Gibb: Nationally, we have allocated £5.8bn from 2015 to 2020 to create more school places. Between 2010 and 2016, 735,000 new school places have been created. Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them in doing so is one of this Government’s top priorities. Local authorities make decisions on where to add capacity, based on local circumstances. Southend-on-Sea has received £20 million for new places between 2011 and 2017 and has been allocated a further £9.5 million for 2017 to 2020.

Basic Skills: Greater London

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of adults lacking core skills in (a) literacy, (b) numeracy and (c) information technology in (i) Greater London and (ii) the London Borough of Newham.

Nick Gibb: The Government is supporting adults in England to develop the basic English, mathematics and digital expertise they need for future employment. This is why we provide full funding for adults to access a range of English and mathematics courses up to and including GCSE and equivalent qualifications. We are introducing a similar right to funding for specified Information and Communication Technology (ICT) courses. The Skills for Life Survey, 2011, estimated the literacy, numeracy and ICT knowledge of adults aged 16-64 in England, including estimates for regions and local authorities. ICT knowledge was assessed against four component elements, including word processing, emailing, spreadsheets and a multiple choice assessment of other ICT expertise such as internet use. The estimates of the numbers and percentage of the adult population with different levels for these components, for England, London, and Newham are in the attached table.



table_attachment
(Word Document, 15.12 KB)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dairy Products and Meat Products: Origin Marking

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to extend country of origin labelling and related geographical origin protections to dairy and processed meat products after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The government believes in improving transparency for the consumer where practical. Within the EU, the UK argued for the extension of Country of Origin Labelling on fresh meats to include pork, poultry, lamb and goat meat which has applied since April 2015. There has been a requirement for Country of Origin labelling on beef since 2000. The UK has also supported Country of Origin Labelling for lightly processed dairy products such as butter and cheese and for lightly processed meat products such as bacon where this does not place unnecessary costs on businesses. We have also supported comprehensive voluntarily schemes, complementing the mandatory rules, covering many processed meat and dairy products. However, leaving the EU gives us an opportunity to consider the scope for further changes to the law in this area.

Women and Equalities

Migrant Workers: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of whether uncertainty around the future status of non-UK EU citizens in the UK will lead to discrimination in the job market; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Employment discrimination on grounds of nationality is in most cases prohibited by the Equality Act 2010 and will remain so. The Government has made clear that workers’ rights that are enjoyed under EU law, including anti-discrimination rights, will also continue to apply after we have left the European Union. Unlawful discrimination against non-UK EU citizens is and will remain unacceptable. The Government Equalities Office (GEO) is aware of, and is looking into, the reports of discrimination against non-UK EU nationals seeking employment which the hon. Member has recently forwarded to the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU. The GEO sponsors the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has powers to enforce the Equality Act 2010 in cases where it suspects unlawful discrimination in employment may have occurred.